Student Placement

ESL students are admitted in two different ways: 1. full admission, 2. provisional admission, which, depending on the test score, means acceptance into the ESL Certificate only.

Full Admission for Undergraduate students

Entering students who meet the Shenandoah University's ESL requirement by taking one of the three tests as outlined below are not required to enroll in ESL courses. However, such students may elect ESL study to improve their English language skills.

  1. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) paper-based test: score of 527 or higher; computer-based test score of 197 or higher; internet-based test score of 71 or higher.
  2. The Sakae Institute of Study Abroad (SISA) test score of 527 or higher.
  3. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) minimum overall band score of 6.0.

Provisional Admission of Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students with scores in the following ranges may be granted provisional admission and begin their undergraduate programs, however, they must enroll for at least 6 hours of ESL each semester until they achieve the TOEFL score required by the program or until they have obtained a grade of B or higher in ESL coursework at the 106 level or above.

  1. SISA or TOEFL paper-based test score of 500 to 526; computer-based test score of 173 to 195; internet-based score of 61 to 70.
  2. IELTS overall band scores between 5.5 and 6.0.

The following ranges indicate how many ESL credits, along with undergraduate credits within their program, admitted students may expect to take:

TOEFL Paper/ TOEFL IBT/IELTS ESL credits required Coursework credits allowed
397 to 499
30 to 60
3 to 5		 12 none
500-526
61 to 69
5.5 to 6		 6 6-9

Entering undergraduate students who do not meet the minimum requirements specified above may be admitted only to the English as a Second Language Certificate until reaching the levels specified for provisional admission to a program.

Full Admission for Graduate Students

Regular (Unconditional) Admission of non-native English Speakers (NNES) Graduate Students to Shenandoah University may be satisfied in any one of the following ways.

  1. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) paper-based test score of 550 or higher; computer-based test score of 213 or higher; internet-based test score of 79 or higher.
  2. The Sakae Institute of Study Abroad (SISA) test score of 550 or higher.
  3. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) minimum overall band score of 6.5.

Entering students who meet the Shenandoah University's ESL requirement as outlined above are not required to enroll in ESL courses. Such students may elect ESL study to improve their English language skills.

Provisional Admission of NNES Graduate Students

Graduate students with scores in the following ranges may be granted provisional admission and begin their graduate programs.

  1. SISA or TOEFL paper-based test score of 525 to 547; computer-based test score of 195 to 210; internet-based score of 70-78.
  2. IELTS overall band scores between 6.0 and 6.5.

Applicants admitted provisionally must enroll for at least six hours of ESL each semester until they achieve the TOEFL score required by their program of study program or until they have obtained a grade of B or higher in ESL coursework at the 106 level or above.

The following ranges indicate how many ESL credits, along with graduate credits within their program, admitted students may expect to take:

TOEFL Paper/ TOEFL IBT/IELTS ESL credits required Coursework credits allowed
397 to 499
30 to 60
3 to 5		 12 none
500 to 525
61 to 70
5.5 to 6		 6 3
526 to 549
71 to 78
6		 6 3-6

Entering graduate students who do not meet the minimum requirements specified above may be admitted only to the English as a Second Language Certificate until reaching the levels specified for provisional admission to a program.

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